Adding %complete to Milestones in the Gantt Chart

Milestones are an important part of any project. They show important achievements in a project, which can be used to communicate high level progress to senior management. Gantt chart in Microsoft Project gives us a graphical representation of the task/project status. Tasks are represented by bars that  graphically display progress.  Milestones are represented by diamonds, Read more about Adding %complete to Milestones in the Gantt Chart[…]

Wave Planning with Project Server/Project Online

I was fortunate enough to speak at the PMI conference in Houston recently, the topic I spoke about was ‘Wave Planning with Project Server’. I promise the attendees that I would write a follow up blog so here it is: What is Wave planning? Wave planning is a dynamic method of assigning resources that allows Read more about Wave Planning with Project Server/Project Online[…]

Microsoft Project 2010 Quick Reference Card Pack Download

Due to popular demand we have added more quick reference cards to our stack.  EPMA’s Microsoft Project 2010 Quick Reference Card Pack now consists of twelve Microsoft Project quick reference cards.  The Quick Reference Cards explain the common elements of the Microsoft Project 2010 interface including: an itemized listing of the Project 2010 ribbon commands, Read more about Microsoft Project 2010 Quick Reference Card Pack Download[…]

Leading Practices used when creating a Project Schedule – 1

This is the first of a series of blogs in which I intend to cover some of the most important aspects of scheduling. These are some leading practices that are applied by many seasoned Project Managers, but are often missed by someone new to the world of Project Management. These are just some of the Read more about Leading Practices used when creating a Project Schedule – 1[…]

Share a Resource Pool Across Multiple Projects in Microsoft Project

I have been teaching the ‘EPMA 100 – Microsoft Project Essentials’ open enrolment classes at EPMA for over a year now. One of the questions that I am commonly asked is, “Is it possible to share a resource pool across multiple projects or a program?” I state that the best way is to use a Read more about Share a Resource Pool Across Multiple Projects in Microsoft Project[…]

How Complicated Does a Project Schedule Need to Be?

I have given Microsoft Project and Microsoft Project Server/Project Online/PPM training classes to various clients from a variety of backgrounds; from power plant engineers scheduling planned outages to educational personnel running projects for local school districts. There is always a common question that is running through the minds of the trainees: What level of detail Read more about How Complicated Does a Project Schedule Need to Be?[…]

Assigning Resources in Microsoft Project

Within Microsoft Project there are various ways to assign resources to tasks within a project schedule. In my opinion there is no right way to assign resources. However, using the right method will allow you to assign resources and plan the assignment correctly and efficiently. I am going to discuss three methods of assigning resources Read more about Assigning Resources in Microsoft Project[…]

Changing the Project Manager in Microsoft Project Server

Within Microsoft Project Sever you may find yourself needing to change the Project Manager of a project schedule from one person to another. To accomplish this there are two steps: The first thing that needs to be done is to set the ‘Owner’ of the project. Once you are the ‘Owner’ of a project schedule, Read more about Changing the Project Manager in Microsoft Project Server[…]